


A Lustful Lie

by SkyWrites



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Comedy, Dates, Different perspectives, F/F, First Meetings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-08
Updated: 2018-06-08
Packaged: 2019-05-19 13:59:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,099
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14875076
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SkyWrites/pseuds/SkyWrites
Summary: Undyne and Alphys meet each other for the first time.





	A Lustful Lie

**Author's Note:**

> From a word war bot. Each new scene is a random prompt I was given by the bot and usually written in about an hour or so over about a week. I came back to edit it, of course. Just a fun little exercise to try and get the writing flow going. 
> 
> Written for [true-reset-server's](https://true-reset-server.tumblr.com/) Waterfall event!

**A Lustful Lie**

 

“Y-you like anime too?”

The word fell out of her fangs in a heated breath. “Yes,” she lied, wondering what ‘anime’ was. Normally, Undyne wasn’t one to lie, but… the way this girl squirmed, the way her glasses steamed up. Something about it made Undyne’s heart race.

The nerdy lizard girl looked up at Undyne, her eyes twinkling with energy. “Really? What’s your favorite anime?!” Strangely enough, this girl lost her stutter.

Undyne scratched the back of her head, a confused grin across her face. The dump was damp and generally a little stinky. Rotting boxes and rusty bikes littered across the ground in little pools of water, glimmering like piles of gross treasure. She had no idea what anime was or what to say, but she was stuck in this lie, and damn it, she was going to see this thing through!

Something pink and girly caught her attention in the corner of her eye. She had no better ideas! Go with it, full force!!

“My favorite anime, huh….” Undyne mumbled. **_“Mew Mew Kissy Cutie, of course_** _!_ ” She screamed at the top of her lungs, having just read the title. The louder you screamed it, the truer it was!!

The yellow lizard grew silent, still as a statue. Oh boy, Undyne had messed this one up, hadn’t she? Mew Mew Kissy Cutie did not sound like an ‘anime’ thing at all! She should have yelled bicycle or weights or BIG SWORDS!! What a stupid thing to say!

“You…” The girl wheezed out, looking away. She clenched her fists, her entire body trembling. Oh god, what had Undyne done? She just wanted to get with this cute girl!

“Look, hey, I-”

_“ **You like Mew Mew Kissy Cutie, too**!?”_ The mousy lizard shouted, her voice going a decibel higher than even Undyne’s previous battle cry. Undyne’s ears rang, and the force of her scream practically knocked her over. She had never been so turned on before. “Oh my god, how much Mew Mew Kissy Cutie have you watched?”

“I-”

“Did you get to episode 3 where Mew Mew sees her best friend in the shower and has to pretend to be a towel so she doesn’t get caught?”

“Well-”

“Did you not love the part where Woof Woof finds Cha-Cha in geometry class, all alone and sad?! And then Woof Woof comforts Cha-Cha by giving her a bento box!?”

“Uh-”

“Oh my GOD! **_AndwhenMewMewfirstlearnsthatthepoweroffriendshipwasinherallalongandshefirsttransformsintoSuperMewMewtheUnmewingIcouldnotbelieveIjustkeptcryingforDAYSyouhavenoidea_** _!”_

“Yeah, uh, me too.”

The girl was practically hyperventilating, her pale scales now red with a strange fury, her breaths coming out in little huffs that were kind of way too sexy. “ ** _THENohGODwhenMewMewjustactuallykissesWoofWoofIcouldn’tbelieveIcouldnotBELIEVEohmygodIhopeI’mnotspoilingitforyou_**.”

Her lips were moving at lightspeed, and Undyne could swear she heard the word kiss in there. She didn’t even know this girl’s name, yet her heart was beating fast! She needed to do something. She wanted to do something stupid. Those lips entranced her, her vicious body motions hypnotized her.

“BUTthen!!Butthen!!OhwhenMewMewacidentlykissesChaChaintheshowerI… I ….” Her face was redder than a strawberry, her curled hands now covering herself. But she wasn’t moving, anymore. She wasn’t speaking again. Undyne wasn’t even sure this girl was breathing.

Undyne bent down to get a closer view of her face. “Hey, hey!” Undyne snapped. “Are you okay?” Oh god, why wasn’t she breathing?!

Before Undyne could even react, she felt powerful clammy hands clasp over her claws. With a power she never expected, Undyne found her lips pressed deeply against this madwoman’s. Her breath was hot, Undyne was barely able to even escape, and she had a strange salty taste to her.

Undyne didn’t fight back. She wasn’t even sure she could. What the hell just happened?? Usually _she_ was the one making the first move!

Once their lips parted, the glasses girl’s eyes went wide. Undyne merely grinned. Glasses girl, however, didn’t seem as pleased. “I-I-I’m so sorry!” She screeched, her stutter returning.

Undyne was not one to find an overly eager girl upsetting. “It’s no problem, but… I didn’t even get your name.”

“I… I-I gotta go! M-my trash can is on fire!” The glasses girl screeched, her entire body a deep red.

“Wait, but-!”

Undyne couldn’t even chase. The nerdy lizard scrambled away through the dump, her feet pitter pattering away at lightspeed through the water. Before she knew it, the yellow/red blur was gone, and Undyne found herself left alone with nothing but her own panting breath, and the gushing waterfalls.

God, she was hot.

* * *

 

**Think of Me**

 

Garbage dump again.

Undyne had to see her again. She didn’t even catch her name, didn’t even know where she lived! Who was this girl! She was so cool, so strong, so weird! Who just kisses someone like that? It must have been a power play, Undyne figured.

She stood at the garbage dump, water trickling down old cases of ice cream, television screens, and more of that ‘ _Mew Mew Kissy Cutie’_ anime stuff. There was a LOT of that junk here, geez. But where was that girl? Surely, she’d be back, right? You don’t just kiss someone and never talk to them again! … Or do you? That would be pretty cool, wouldn’t it? But then… then she’d win for sure! Undyne clenched her fists. No one would beat her at this! Undyne was the cool one, not that nerd!

_Splish splish splish…_

Undyne heard her coming, knew it was her by the weird shuffling splashes of her feet. This was her chance! She’d show off how cool she was, she’d BEAT that girl into submission! Ha! Undyne quickly crossed her arms and leaned against one of the dump’s nicer rusty bikes. She saw the glasses girl return, but refused to meet her gaze, instead looking out into the dark abyss of the garbage dump super coolly.

Oh yeah, this would get her! She’d be so impressed with Undyne’s technique, she’d HAVE to surrender to her power, right then and there!

Seconds went by. _Scritch scritch scritch…_ Glasses girl’s claws lightly scratched against the anime cases as she stared at them intently. She didn’t even look at Undyne! What! Impossible! Undyne made a light coughing noise (a cool cough, like from a smoker!) and continued to stare off into the abyss, barely giving glasses girl a glance.

That got her attention! Undyne spotted it. From the corner of her glasses, the lizard had looked over. But she merely made a strange huffing noise and went back to shifting through her garbage.

_What the hell! Surely this girl was at least thinking of me, right? Right?!_

_That’s it. No more playing around. She’d have to do better than THAT to out cool ME._

In a flash, an emerald green spear materialized in Undyne’s claw. The spear pulsated with raw energy. One wrong move, and it could explode in her hand, damaging, maybe even flat out KILLING her! Maybe even killing the glasses girl! Who knew!! It was so dangerous and cool!

Oh yeah, this got the glasses girl’s attention now! Another split-second glance, another huff, and she was shuffling through her trash more fervently.

Not done yet!!

Undyne slammed the spear into the ground, water splashing all over herself and glasses girl. Dirt and debris and some ice cream wrappers were sent flying, exploding throughout the dump. Undyne then casually leaned against the spear, looking into the dark abyss, EXTRA coolly now. Oh man, if only she could look over and see glasses girl now! She’d HAVE to be defeated!

Well…. Maybe she could just take a quick peak. Her lone eye shifted ever so slightly.

Glasses girl was gone. The only thing left were her tiny claw marks against the anime cases. She never said a word to Undyne. She must not have even _thought_ about her!

Undyne sighed, her spear already gone in an instant. She scratched the back of her head in a not very cool manner.

This girl was better than she thought.

* * *

 

**Ravenous Time**

Her cool stoic stance wasn’t working anymore. In fact, she couldn’t even do it. Her foot tapped impatiently, splashing bits of water about. Her claws angrily clicked together, her fangs refused to sit still, a frown grinding between her lips.

Three days.

Three days!

Three days she had been standing around at the dump saying nothing, acting cool. Every day that mousy little lizard came shuffling through, digging through the dank damp trash. She wouldn’t even spare Undyne a glance! Undyne had even started juggling her spears casually at one point, dashing them against the cave walls, cracks spiderwebbing throughout. Still, the nerd wouldn’t break.

How could she be this powerful?! Was Undyne truly beaten?

And here she was again today. Shuffling through the pile of trash next to Undyne. There were plenty of other spots to dig through! But the lizard girl chose the ones near Undyne, every time. She knew! She knew what she was doing! She had to! It drove Undyne mad.

Finally, the lizard girl made a noise. She held a bright pink case, though very damp and rusty, labeled ‘ _Mew Mew Kissie Cutie 2’_ featuring a strange cat-like human holding up two fingers. The girl frowned. “Tch, terrible,” she grunted, before tossing the thing into the abyss.

Undyne’s blood boiled. What was that supposed to mean?! Did this weird little lizard not love _Mew Mew Kissie Whatever_ a few days ago!? Was she trying to say Undyne was terrible!?

Was this some form of challenge?!

That was it! If Undyne was going to lose, she was going to lose spectacularly! She’d show this nerd how a real loser loses!

“ **NGAAAH**!” Undyne roared, pieces of cave and debris falling apart around her by the sheer force of her voice. “Enough!”

That got her attention. But again, only a glance! How dare she ignore me! She was already back to her trash! Sure, she seemed a bit more hurried, and Undyne noted the breathlessness to her, but that wasn’t enough!

Undyne stomped over to the girl, towering over her, glowing spear in hand. Still, she ignored. No one could be this powerful! “Just who are you, anyway!?”

Finally! Finally the girl returned her gaze. She looked back up at Undyne, her eyes hidden by foggy glasses. Convenient. Her next words only antagonized further.

“W-who, me?”

No way!! What game was she playing! She was always three steps ahead of Undyne! Still! She wouldn’t lose! Or well… she’d lose, but she would lose like a hero!

“Of course, you!” Undyne resisted the urge to grab that flimsy lab coat of hers, certain that it must have held some kind of secret weaponry. “ **Who. Are. You!?** ”

Her face turned red, red with a warrior’s rage! “I-I-I’m Dr. Alphys.”

Undyne reeled back, the attack a stunning blow. _That_ was Dr. Alphys?! The infamous royal scientist!? Undyne had heard of her, everyone had! But very few had actually _seen_ her. There were tales of this mysterious woman. Undyne had just assumed it was some nerdy scientist lady! Not this powerful opponent!

“Y-y-you’re Undyne, Captain of the Royal Guard, r-r-right?” The doctor continued.

Another great attack! Undyne nearly fell back into the water, but she held her ground. This was another power play wasn’t it!? Undyne didn’t know who _she_ was but _she_ knew who Undyne was! For once, Undyne found herself dumbstruck, at a loss on what to do next.

“I-I-I’ve seen y-you around…” Alphys said in a mock nervous tone. “Y-you um… you seem really strong!” Her lips breathed the words out almost sensuously.

Undyne’s eye went wide. The third and final attack! If that wasn’t a challenge, she didn’t know what was! ‘ _You seem really strong, but you’re not stronger than me!’_ That’s what this Dr. Alphys was saying wasn’t she!? Oh, and Undyne didn’t forget the kiss, like this _Alphys_ seemed to have! Very clever!

Her heart pounded in her chest, her mind raced like a whirling whirlpool. This Alphys was beautiful, she was strong, and she was extremely cunning. She must have been way out of Undyne’s league! She didn’t stand a chance against her unbreakable technique!

Undyne faltered. Her knees felt like a pile of jelly. Her chest was filled with horrible poisonous bugs! Alphys must have injected her with some kind of weakening serum in an attempt to beat her! “Uh… uh!...” Undyne could barely speak. “Great…. Great weather we’re having today!”

No! What was she doing!?

The mad Dr. Alphys raised an eyebrow at that for a moment, but quickly returned with a smile. “I-it sure is! A g-good day, I mean!”

Undyne was humiliated! Yet, Alphys still tried to humor her. A remark out of pure pity, it must have been. She felt sorry for Undyne, didn’t she?

Undyne wouldn’t give up! Not like this! It wasn’t over, yet! No one felt sorry for Undyne, but Undyne! And she never felt sorry for herself! Her heart continued to pound, but this time she felt the beat of righteousness, of justice!

It was time for her ultimate technique.

Quickly, while the doctor was distracted with Undyne’s _obvious_ bluff (the weather remark was just a ruse, of course!) she scooped up Dr. Alphys in a suplex hold. Alphys let out a squeak of surprise, clearly Undyne had the upper hand now!

Oh, but she wasn’t done yet! Alphys expected a suplex! She’d be ready! She wouldn’t be ready for _this!_

Just before Undyne could finish the doctor off, she raised Alphys up and pressed her lips against her opponent’s. Again, she was met with that salty taste, but this time she ravenously fought to keep it herself. At first, Alphys squealed and struggled, her breaths entering Undyne in a rapid hot state. But it wasn’t soon after that the scientist melted in her claws like a big pile of yellow lizard butter!

Yes! All according to plan, of course!

Kiss complete. When Undyne felt ready for their lips to part, she finished the fight as dramatically as possible. With a grunt of power, Undyne bent backwards and finished the suplex she started, slamming Alphys into the dirty water beneath! The doctor laid there, stunned, a hot mess of the powerful opponent she used to be.

Undyne stood proud, the wind blowing through her hair heroically. She was the best! Oh man, wait till Papyrus heard about this!

One last finishing touch. Another spear crackled into existence, glowing dangerously over the now defeated Dr. Alphys. The scientist was still reeling from Undyne’s attack. “Now for a taste of your own medicine, nerd!” Undyne howled like the wind.

She lobbed the spear forward, directly at Alphys! Of course, like the worthy opponent she was, the doctor didn’t even flinch. The spear landed squarely at her feet, right between her legs and tail. She stared at the weapon silently, breathlessly.

When she would look up, she would find Undyne gone, cackling away into the distance. Once the spear dissolved, she’d also find a note attached with a number. ‘ _Call me, nerd! If you dare!_ ’

* * *

 

**Over the Rainbow**

 

Alphys stared at the rainbow of colors on her wall. Well, it was mostly pink, but there were a lot of other colors too! Just mostly pink. God, was there always so much pink in Mew Mew Kissie Cutie? This was too much pink! How could someone like Undyne be into this?!

She stared at the note in her clammy hands, barely even legible. ‘ _call me nard!!! if you dare!!!!!!!!!_ ’ She squinted hard at the numbers next to it, hardly able to tell if these were numbers or some kind of message in another language. The paper was shredded, as if every letter, every number was stabbed into existence.

What did this mean?! Was Undyne upset with Alphys?! Did Alphys call her a ‘nard’ on accident? Or… was she calling Alphys a nard?! If Alphys were to call her up… would she just get made fun of?

She unconsciously rubbed her back, both her behind and spine still a little sore from her last encounter with Undyne two days ago. Alphys didn’t have it in her to go back to the dump anymore. Her lips were still tingling though, and her heart nearly burst out of her chest just thinking about that suplex kiss she had received.

What the hell was that, anyway!? Not that Alphys didn’t, you know, love it! It was something straight out of her fanfiction, actually. But fiction and real life are two different things! Alphys had already been so terrified, been so embarrassed each day she spent at the dump with Undyne after their unfortunate… first kiss.

God, what was she thinking? Her stomach got tied up in knots just at the memory. Kissing the Captain of the Royal Guard like that! All because some stupid anime got her excited!

“T-t-this is your fault, by the way!” Alphys screeched at the poster. Mew Mew simply kept that girly smile on, smug and proud of herself. “S-see, I knew season 2 was a mistake! What were the writers even t-thinking!”

Ever since, she’d been too afraid to even look Undyne’s way, let alone call her! This was a professional knight! A strong, buff, beautiful, sexy, did she mention strong? Oh…

“S-snap out of it!” Alphys muttered, smacking her huffing face.

Undyne was way out of Alphys’ league! Who was Dr. Alphys? She looked into the mirror near her messy bed. A hunched over, pale little gremlin stared back through foggy lenses. Her lab coat was stained with some of breakfast’s instant ramen. Or was that from lunch’s instant ramen? She couldn’t remember. She tried to smile, and only a crooked thing appeared, with crooked teeth.

“Ugh, l-let’s go back to you,” Alphys grunted, pointing her gaze back to Mew Mew’s judgmental gaze. At least _her_ judgmental gaze was fake.

Yet, even through all the doubt, even through all the self-pity, she found her cellphone in her hand. Undyne’s number was already dialed in. She just had to press ‘call.’ _Do it! Do it, you coward! Call her, she wants you to!_

‘ _Why would she want to talk to you?_ ’ Mew Mew said through a happy giggle, big eyes sparkling with glee. ‘ _Even if she did somehow like you, you’d just be nothing but a nuisance to her!_ ’

“N-no, that’s… that’s not true. I-I could… I could make her happy,” Alphys argued, although her eyes were already staring at her stupid feet on the grimy tiles.

‘ _You?_ ’ Mew Mew laughed, a sweet chilling laugh, a laugh Alphys had heard so many times from season 1 episode 3. ‘ _You’ll do nothing but lie to her. Just like you lie to everyone else. She’s happy enough isn’t she? Why ruin that for her?_ ’

She heard a chilling howl from below. The stack of letters appeared to grow before her.

Mew Mew’s bright green eyes reminded Alphys of those spears Undyne had. Sharp and dangerous. Ready for anything. Alphys clenched her fists and glared back, feeling the phone nearly crumble in her grip.

“E-even I couldn’t ruin her!” Alphys shouted, much too loud. But it covered up the howling. She didn’t want to hear it. “Undyne, s-she’s… too strong to be put down by me!”

Still, the poster smirked. _‘Ah, so willing to be a burden to her! So selfish! Just you, you, you! I can see where Mettaton got his personality!_ ’

“N-no! Mettaton’s just n-naturally like that!”

There was a sparkle downstairs and the sound of lights and laser flashing. “Oh, darling, did I hear you say my name?”

Alphys sighed. “No.”

“Hmph! Suit yourself, darling!” The sound of a wheel rolling out of her automatic doors reached Alphys.

She rubbed her temples, feeling a migraine coming on. The table beneath Mew Mew had a thin layer of dust blanketing it. She hadn’t gotten anything done since Mettaton’s completion.

‘ _See? You don’t have time to mess around with her!_ ’ Mew Mew continued, her voice almost ear piercingly cheerful. ‘ _You still have a lot of work to do with_ **them** _._ ’

Her back ached. “I-I… I need some me time too.”

Mew Mew giggled, a tiny rainbow escaping her mouth as she did so. ‘ _You don’t deserve it!_ ’ Her tail wagged, and her cat ears bounced playfully. _‘You don’t deserve her, either! Don’t you have enough free time, anyway? Here you are having an argument with a stupid anime character, after all!_ ”

Alphys sighed. The poster was smudged with grease. It wouldn’t come out.

‘ _Besides!_ ’ Mew Mew did a little twirl, bright stars and hearts swirling around her cute body. The smile finally turned into a frown. Her eyes didn’t sparkle. ‘ _You don’t have it in you to call her anyway. You’re wasting your time talking to this gross poster. You can’t do it. You can’t do anything right._ ’

Alphys flinched. “H-hey, Mew Mew wouldn’t say that! This isn’t c-canon. You s-should be cheering me on.”

Mew Mew’s cute girly voice was gone now, replaced with a mumbling stutter, much like Alphys. Her skin was pale, her face disinterested. ‘ _This poster is from season 2, remember?_ ’ The cat girl lazily flashed two fingers forward, much like the actual poster.

Never could find a good season 1 poster.

‘ _Seriously, give it up_ ,’ Mew Mew sighed. ‘ _Even this whole talking to fictional characters thing is cliché. Your own_ **thoughts** _are an unoriginal mess. Get over it and stop wasting our time._ ’

The poster was back to normal. Pink and exploding with colors. Mew Mew stood in the same pose she always did. She was right, though. This was a waste of time. She had no chance with Undyne, she would never call Undyne, and she didn’t deserve it. There were more important things to worry about than this.

“ _Hey!! Hey!! Hello!?_ ”

“Ugh, shut up, you stupid poster,” Alphys grumbled.

They were probably hungry by now. She should just go back down where she belonged, and-

“ ** _What the hell did you say to me, punk_** _!?_ ”

The phone in her hand was practically exploding with raw magical energy. Alphys could hear the sound of spears being thrown at it. Oh. Oh god. Oh no. Did she… did she accidently call Undyne!?

“I-I-I-I, Uh!!” Alphys didn’t dare hang up, but she couldn’t speak. Her heart was in her throat. She held the phone away from her like a disgusting Temmie that she was too afraid to touch but had to put outside anyway.

“ _Trying to play it cool now, huh_!?” Undyne’s voice howled over the receiver. “ _I knew you were tough, but I didn’t think you’d have the GUTS to call me and then start insulting me!!_ ”

No, no no no nonononon, what had she done?! Wasn’t there one thing Alphys could do without completely screwing it up!? “I-I-I-I…” The words wouldn’t come out. They screamed in her head, but she couldn’t force them out.

_I’m sorry! I’m sorry! I’m too stupid to say I’m sorry! I wasn’t talking to you, I was talking to a poster, I don’t know what’s wrong with me, I’m sorry for everything!_

The phone went silent. She must have hung up.

“ _So, when is it cool for me to come over?_ ” Undyne asked through the phone calmly. “ _I was thinking we could watch that, uh, anime stuff._ ”

“Huh,” Alphys blurbled, wiping a tear from her eye.

Undyne coughed. “ _I mean, if you’re busy, it’s cool, I just…_ ”

“You can come over right now!” Alphys screeched. “This instant! Anytime you want!” Oh, oh no that was too over eager again wasn’t it?

The phone was practically cackling. “ _Right now, huh?! Another challenge! I’ll be there in less than five minutes_!”

Alphys stared at the mirror again, noting the stains on her coat. “W-wait, but you’re in Waterfall aren’t you? H-how are you going to get there that-”

The distinct sound of fists pounding against metal could be heard downstairs. “Open up, nerd! I’m dying of heatstroke out here!”

A startled ‘meep’ escaped Alphys’ lips, which she noted were incredibly dry! She quickly shuffled out of her room, not even sparing a glance at the poster. Her heart was pounding, her palms were sweating even more than usual, yet she couldn’t help but smile. She wondered if she looked as stupid in the mirror like before, but there wasn’t any time! Undyne was waiting.  

* * *

 

**Mysterious Memories**

 

“So, you built that, huh?!” Undyne said through sweaty breaths, in genuine awe.

To Alphys, the Hotland core loomed in the distance. A giant metallic figure, bathing in red hot. Steam hissed and pumped from its pipes, whispering dark things to her mind. It watched her, almost alive. It reached desperately for the Underground’s cavernous ceiling, groping and grasping, demanding it be seen, that it be remembered.

A lone block of ice drifted by, leaving a cool mist under Undyne’s feet. She breathed a sigh of relief as she gulped down another cup of water. Both sat at the cliff’s edge over the lava, yet somehow Alphys wasn’t afraid of the lava. No, that didn’t scare her. The core did.

She wanted to be honest. For once in her life. Undyne deserved that much at least.

“I-I don’t know,” Alphys admitted.

Undyne turned to face her, eye wide with skepticism. “What do you mean? Everyone knows you made that!” She tilted her head. “... I think.”

Alphys took in a deep breath, the smell of chemicals and ozone filling her lungs. The smell reminded her of something, something dark in the back of her mind. “I… I think I made it?” She started, staring deeply at the glowing red metal. “Or … I helped at least?”

“You’re weird,” Undyne said with a scrunched-up face. “Obviously you didn’t build it all on your own! You had help, but it was your idea, your work!”

Alphys shook her head, finding it so strange how easy it was to speak openly to Undyne. Anyone else, she would have just said _‘Y-yep, that’s me!_ ’ But… somehow Undyne got the truth out of her. Somehow, she felt safe. Almost safe enough to say everything. Almost.

“I-It doesn’t feel like my idea?” Alphys whimpered, still unsure. “I mean, I remember working on it, I think…”

Again, that smell of clean entered her nostrils, and a cool wave of mist hit her toes. Something in her brain was burning, begging to be seen. She could remember the core, the cool sheen of metal, the hum of electricity, an old bony friend. She could even remember giving orders to people somehow? But that… that can’t be right. Alphys could never tell anyone what to do.

Undyne stared hard into her face, narrowing that sharp eye of hers. She was trying to see through Alphys. Usually she could! But this time even Undyne’s piercing gaze wasn’t enough. There was an uncertainty to the warrior that Alphys rarely saw. A stern gaze, a confident glare, yet her eyebrow betrayed it all with the tiniest of twitches.

She couldn’t see what Alphys couldn’t see.

Although, unlike Alphys, Undyne wasn’t one to dwell on such uncertainties. She shrugged. “You know, for someone so tough and so smart, you certainly act like you don’t have confidence. Get confident, nerd!” She gulped down another drink, wiping the sweat from her forehead. “I get it, you don’t wanna take all the glory, but-”

“T-that’s not it!” Alphys screeched, throwing Undyne’s balance off dangerously for a moment. She was tired of taking credit for everything, tired of all the lies! Sure, maybe she was smart! But, she wasn’t _this_ smart! She wasn’t giant creepy energy producing building smart! If she really built it, it’d have been pinker, and would have been called the Mew Mew Machine!

“I-I really don’t… I just don’t know!” Alphys sighed again, looking at her clammy hands. There was no way these things made _that._ Although, she has made some pretty horrifying things. But those were failures. Failures. The core wasn’t a failure.

She felt a tight grip around her side, practically constricting her. It didn’t hurt. It was a little sweaty, but it didn’t hurt. It knocked the stuttering breaths out of her mouth, choked the dark memories out.

“Hey,” Undyne said softly, a strange sound Alphys had thought impossible to come from a warrior like her. “It’s all right. Sorry.”

Another refreshing mist washed over the two, and they let out a simultaneous breath of relief. Alphys wasn’t sure what to do with her hands or what to say. She placed them awkwardly on Undyne’s lap??

“There’s one thing you do know, though, right?” Undyne asked gently, looking out to the core. “You did help make it, didn’t you?”

Again, she reached into the dark swirling torrent of her mind and thought-

“Hey!” Undyne roared, snapping Alphys out of it. “Don’t think so hard about it! Did you at least help make it or not?”

“W-well, um, hm, you see I-I…”

A splash of cold water washed over Alphys, followed by a cackle. “Yes or no question, nerd!”

Dr. Alphys shivered, her lab coat now a ruined mess. Her thoughts again were a torrent, but this time it wasn’t so dark, and she could see a smiling fish laughing in the waters, cackling and challenging it to take her away.

“Y-yes!” Alphys yelled back. “Yeah! I-I know I helped make it! A-and y-you know what else?!”

Undyne’s fangs were turned into a tight grin. “What?”

“I-I keep it running! M-me! I do regular maintenance on it! A-any problems that might occur, I-I’m the first one to know! I-I supply everyone electricity! W-without me, there’d be _nothing!_ I am-”

“Settle down, nerd!” Undyne laughed, squeezing Alphys tighter. “I don’t wanna waste all my water by throwing it on you!”

Alphys felt herself wheezing. Wait. She wasn’t wheezing. She was laughing? She couldn’t remember the last time she laughed with someone else. Well, she could but… it was a haze. That was okay, though! She could figure it out sometime later.

“Y-you wanna go get some Nice Cream?” Alphys offered, noting the big jug of water Undyne had been drinking was already nearing the bottom.

“Long as you’re payin’, punk!” Undyne said, lifting herself and Alphys up like she was nothing but a body pillow. Not that Alphys minded!

Before she could even answer, they were off, dashing away from the core towards a cooler retreat. She watched it slowly disappear into the horizon, humming and hissing some mysterious language. It was always there in the distance, somewhere. But right now, she had to focus on finding her wallet while a buff fish lady carried her over lava pits, conveyor belts, and various lasers.


End file.
